Elevating and carrying apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- J. S. FORD.

ELEVATING AND CARRYING APPARATUS.

N 333.45 Patented Dec. 29, 1885 WITNESSES INVEJVTOR QLAAMMLW .dttorrieys (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. S; FORD.

EL-BVATING AND CARRYING APPARATUS. No, 333,45 Patented'Deo. 29, 1885.

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WITNESSES WV I VEJVTOR 1 J, @md/ "m 1 X. (my

orneyJ UNITED STATES Arena FFIQE.

JESSE S. FORD, OF OVVENSBOROUGH, KENTUCKY.

ELEVATING AND CARRYING APPARATUS.

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,456, dated December 29, 1885.

Application filed October 17,1885. Serial No. 180,197. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEssE S. FORD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Owensborough, in the county of Daviess and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevating and Carrying Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following-is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure l is a perspective view of my improved elevating and carrying device, the

line of the track being broken as shown. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken centrally through the carriage and midway between the tracks and showing the bucket lowered. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line or x in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the carriage and of the ends of the track. Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective of the catch at the lower end of the track; and Fig. 6 is alongitudinal vertical sectional view ofthe device,showing the bucket raised and in position for traveling.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the'figures.

This invention relates to elevators and carriers or devices for raising water, coal, ore, rocks, and the like from a well or pit and carrying it to any desired dumping-place, where it may be deposited, and whence the carriage or bucket may then be returned for a new load.

The invention consists'in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts,which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed, A A designate a pair of rails, which may be of wood or metal, and which are to be laid upon suit able frames or supports, B B, whereby they are raised or elevated from the ground, forming a track, which should be somewhat in clined, as will be seen clearly in the drawings hereto annexed. The lower end of the track terminates directly over the well, mine, or pit from whence, the water, coal, ore, or other material is to be taken, and from this point the track leads to the destination or dumpingplace, where it terminates in a pair of brackets, O 0, having boxes or bearings for a drum or Windlass, D, one end of which is equipped with a crank or handle, E, whereby it may be conveniently turned.

F is a carriage adapted to travel upon the track composed of the rails A A. Said carriage is composed of a frame, G, mounted upon the flanged wheels H H, and the sides of which "are provided with uprights I I, connected at their upper ends by a cross piece or cap, J. The platform K, which forms the bottom of the carriage, is hinged at the rear end of the frame G, so that it may swing downwardly, as will be plainly seen in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The front end of the carriage-frame has'a pivoted latch, L, of suitable construction, adapted to engage a pin, M, which extends from the front end of the platform K, and is adapted to sustain the said platform in its raised position, as will be seen in Figs. 1 and 6 of the drawings. The latch L has a laterally-extending arm, N, normally resting in a bail or support, 0, and by raising which the said latch may be disengaged from the pin M, thus permitting the hinged platform to drop. This is in practice efi'ected automatically by means of an inclined or bent pin or arm, P, affixed at the lower end of the track, and which, when the carriage reaches this point, strikes the arm N of the latch, thus releasing the platform K.

Q, is an upwardly and rearwardly extending curved bracket, arranged at the lower end of the track, where the said bracket may be hinged to a cross-piece, R; or it may be constructed of elastic materialsuch as spring metalwhich will enable the operation, to be hereinafter described, to take place without necessity for hinging the said bracket in its place. The upper endof the said bracket is bifurcated, as at S, and its under side is provided with a latch or catch, T, suitably attached thereto and adapted to engage a staple, U, upon the front end of the carriage-frame. This catch serves to retain the carriage in position at the lower end of the track during operation. At the upper end of the track the carriage may be in like manner retained by means of a beveled spring hook or catch, V,

the carriage-frame.

X is a bucket, adapted to rest upon the platform K of the carriage. Said bucket has a bail, Y, to which is attached one "end of a rope or chain, Z, which passes over a pulley, A, attached to the cap-piece J of the carriage, and thence to the drum or Windlass D,to which the other end of said rope is attached. The length of the rope should exceed thelength of the track at least by the depth to which the bucket is to be lowered. The rails A A are connected near the lower end of the track by a cross-piece, B, having a wheel or pulley, G, suitably journaled thereto. The function of this device will be presently described.

The operation of this invention is as follows: When the carriage, upon the platform of which the bucket is supported, as in Fig. l, is released from the hook or catch V at the upper end of the track, it will by its own gravity descend or travel to the lower end of the same, meanwhile unwinding the rope or chain from the Windlass D. When the lowerend of the track is reached, the catch T engages the staple U, thus retaining or holding the carriage. At the same time the pin or arm P strikes the arm N of the latch L, thus releasing the hinged platform, which willthen drop to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, thus causing the bucket to descend by its own weight into the well or pit. When the bucket has been filled either automatically or by persons stationed for the purpose, the drum or windlass D is operated, so asto wind the rope or chain and hoist the bucket, the carriage being meanwhile retained stationary by means of the catch T. WVhen the bucket has been elevated, its bail will strike the bifurcated hinged or elastic bracket Q, raising the latter and lifting the catch T on its under side out of the staple U, thus releasing the carriage, which is now with the bucket drawn up the inclined track by the continued winding of the rope upon the Windlass or drum D. As the carriage progresses the pulley or wheel 0 of the cross piece B will strike the under side of the platform K, thus raising the latter and causing the pin M at its front end to automatically engage the latch L, whereby the platform is retained in its raised position. When the carriage reaches the upper end of the track, the hook or latch V will engage the staples W, thus holding or retaining the carriage until it shall be again released. When the operator leaves the drum or Windlass D, the bucket remains supported upon the plat form K, from whence it may at leisure be removed and emptied.

This device will be found convenient for conveying water from a distance, as well as for elevating and carrying coal, ore, and the like. The construction is simple and inexpensive, and it may be easily and effectively operated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In an elevating and carrying device, the combination of an inclined track mounted upon suitable frames or supports, a carriage adapted to travel upon the said track and having a hinged bottom or platform, a latch arranged to hold the said platform in a raised position, mechanism -for releasing the said latch at the lower end of the track, a bucket normally resting upon the said platform, and a rope attached to the hail of the bucket and passing from thence over a pulley suspended under a crosstree of the carriage and to a Windlass at the upper end of the track, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. In an elevating and carrying device, the combination of an inclined track, the carriage adapted to travel upon the same and having a hinged bottom or platform, and a latch adapted to sustain the latter, means for releasing said latch at the lower end of the track, and a-cross'piece arranged near the lower end of the track and having a wheel or pulley adapted to bear against the under side of the said platform, thereby raising the latter when the carriage is drawn up the track, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combination of the carriage-frame, the bottom or platform hinged at the rear end of the same and having a forwardly-extending pin at its front end, a latch mounted pivotally upon the front end of the carriageframe and having a laterally-extending arm, and an inclined pin or arm affixed at the lower end of the track and adapted to strike the said latch-arm, so as to operate the latch and release the platform, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination of the carriage having a hinged platform adapted to support the bucket'and provided with a staple at its front end, the inclinedtrack, a hinged or elastic curved bifurcated bracket arranged at the lower end of the track, a catch attached to the under side of the said bracket and adapted to engage the staple at the front end of the carriage-frame, and a hoisting-rope attached to the bail of the bucket passing over a pulley suspended under the top cross-tree of the carriage and thence to a drum or Windlass at the upper end of the track, whereby when the bucket is hoisted it shall strike the bifurcated bracket and release the carriage from the catch upon the under side of the said bracket, all arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CORNELIUS HOOVER, THOMAS A. STEWART. 

